8 febbraio 2018

HÉLEN PHAN, born in 1989 is a Child Culture Designer and a Product Designer based in Malmö, Sweden.

She is a young-at-heart designer totally infatuated with child culture and play. She designs experiences for and WITH children, working with products / interiors / spaces / graphics / concepts / service / workshops. She also does lectures on children's participation.

Find here following some of her projects:

AL'S HOUSEA playhouse with tiny aluminium figures designed to be made in the technique aluminium-profiling. Inspired by children’s drawings of houses.The concept is a neutral playhouse with belonging figures, free from class, gender and ethnicity. The colours and shapes of the figures represent the similarities and dissimilarities of people.

PAUSE It suits one single child in need of an own private space as well as for two or more children’s need for social play in privacy. The concept also considers kindergarten as a context by having felt as material, a material that is sound absorbing at the same time as it enhances the feeling of a private space. By being foldable PAUSE can easily be knocked down to be stored and save space. It could also be hung up on a wall and turned into a playful sound absorber.

KIWI BIRD BOXHow can a toy unite children with autism and other children in play?Play makes the tool of Kiwi Bird box to give children with autism the opportunity to develop in social interaction with other children. Because, children are in fact the best pedagogues a child with autism can have. It is a mutual peep box for two children to play, interact and communicate with
each other. With the help of magical magnetism that the kiwi birds
possess, children can show, tell and guide each other in a playful way
when watching and affecting the world inside Kiwi Bird Box.

BIG FINKI Play is about telling a story and finding bodily joy.Big Fink and Little Fink are designed to be children's roommates, the kind of friendly play objects that have souls. Responding to children through physical interaction, the finks encourage children to express themselves bodily and narratively in cuddly play.Their bodies are made of textile and foam, and deep inside them lies the secret to their wobbliness: a small bag of rice that keep the them down-to-earth.

BLOB SLEDDINGYour friend through cold and snowy days!

GRÖNKULLAA play furniture, designed to encourage children to express themselves physically in play with big bodily movements. Children are constantly discovering life with all their senses and their whole body. A physically active child is a play signal, that invites other children to join.

ORANGEREST, SIT, PLAY, PRETEND, ROCK, GROW, ORANGE. ORANGE is designed to be an enclosed and protecting pupa for children with the possibility to open up for play and imagination. It's a product to grow up with, having the qualities of cradle, chair, resting place, swing, hut, toy, you name it.

6 febbraio 2018

Yodeesa is a stool encapsulating simplicity of aesthetic and
construction. The stool is made up of three components, and no tools or
hardware are required to assemble and disassemble it. The furniture can be flat packed into a 680 x 400 x
50mm package and the seat and legs can be locked in place by securing the
plumbing valve knob in just matter of seconds.Designed by Singaporean designer Ivan Ho, founder of multidisciplinary design studio tizumuka, it managed to nick an Honourable Mention from the Red Dot Award: Design Concept in 2014.

17 gennaio 2018

Thanks to Francesca (Threelittlepigs Blog) and Paola Noè (Unduetrestella) I have been able to have a look at the news presented by the Brand &ME (see our post dated 2015) at Pitti Bimbo 86 (Florence, 18 -20 January).I have always loved their love for handmade and their use of natural materials and timeless forms. Have a look at their new (and old, why not?) collection, you will love it for sure.Here, my personal selection:

BABY GIMThe new &me baby gym uses similar design elements as its bigger
brother the &me crib. Created as a visually appealing addition to
your babys environment whilst still having actual function in tactilly
and visually entertaining your little one.

BABY PUZZLEWood puzzle with modern archetype forms.

99 NUMBERSThis new toy is both educative and decorative. It is a way to learn
counting and numbers playfully. You can count from 00 to 99. While
playing with it, kids learn their numbers.It is inspired by old-fashioned numbers from ball games.

5 dicembre 2017

BLOCKY is a set of wooden blocks to be colored with chalks. Made of solid wood, recovered from manufacturing processing waste, painted with chalkboard painting to be transformed by kids imagination. An object able to enhance your creative thinking and that makes it fun to learn about recycling. Its packaging is very nice, made of cardboard and can be customized by kids (For example it can be turned into a birdhouse)

Valorizzazioni Culturali | Art-Events and AtemporaryStudio present, in coincidence with the Milan Design Week 2017, the exhibition IRONICALLY ICONIC which will take place from 4 to 9 April at Brera Site, in the heart of Milan. Formal icons and everyday objects, apparently conventional, reveal themselves in the wonder and surprise of the unexpected.Unexpected design for expected uses, the slogan of
the exhibition, anticipates the outcomes that the reversal of roles
between irony and icon can generates.
Valorizzazioni Culturali | Art-Events andAtemporaryStudio selected and
invited designers, brands and companies of different field, which made
of irony their style, to submit one or more works to small compositional
projects.One of the Projets that I liked the most is Stüda, a modular system which really is iconic and ironic.Designed by the Team of NINE(Paolo Emilio Bellisario-concept and development-, Matteo Di Sora -development- and Emilia Caffo -development-)forMOOW

Why Stüda?Stüda (the name is a mash-up of the STUD - generating unit of LEGO - ironically in Swedish) was born to offer to the AFOL and their children, a modular system of furnishings textured with studs in full-scale, not as a result of hacking, plug-in and DIY. A pure volume, made working the Corian by a CNC milling machine, with a continuous textured surface compatible with LEGO blocks, that thanks the bricks can constantly change shape and color over time. Daily the textured surface allows you to leave creative messages, or to create complements we need (vases, frames, bowls, etc.). Parents can let their children helping them to decorate the house, and young couple can invite their friends to socially customize their furniture. The less creative can use apps like “LEGO Photo” to customize their Stüda with paintings or photos made by bricks. The three dimensions of the modules and the different colors allow you to create endless combinations both freestanding and wall hanged.Materials: blockboard wooden frame, Corian Du Pont cladding. Iron support on request. Dimensions: Module 1 30x60x40cm ; Module 2 60x60x40cm ; Module 3 120x60x40cm For More info visit NINE Website or write them an e-mail.

27 marzo 2017

For the first time Afilii – platform for design + architecture for kids presents at Ventura Lambrate 14 young designers and up coming brands from seven countries. Afilii introduces stimulating and creative toys, accessories and furniture for children with a story behind - products which engage kids with design, sensuality and creativity.

Furthermore, Afilii – platform for design + architecture for kids invites kids from the age of 6+ to a creative time:

_„can a toy be more then a toy?“ – creative time for kids from the age of 6+ - Where are my toys come from? What will happen to my toys, whegrow up? How will they end?

Let´s find out togheter.

„can a toy be more then a toy?“

Saturday, 8th of april

12am + 3pm

Duration: 1hour

Afilii`s mission is to empower children and their parents with creativity, imagination and sensuality. Furthermore our platform for design + architecture for kids is an independent reference guide for everyone who works with and for children. Afilii introduces a new approach to design and architecture for children and presents stimulating and engaging products and concepts – from toys, accessories and furniture for children to play grounds, kindergarten and architecture for schools. Afilii features young designers, up coming brands and small traditional companies who have dedicated themselves to create meaningful design for children.

You've
never seen them! The first pieces of Fioredoro new collection, such as
Bazar, the solid wooden stand with tool-less lock technology, made their debut at Spielwarenmesse, the the International Toy Fair in Nuremberg! Thanks to its simplicity and versatility,
Bazar is perfect for parties, street markets or refreshing lemonades!
Conceived as a Waldorf playstand, Bazar stands out for the naturalness
of its materials. It can also be easily assembled by children without
parent's help thanks to its intuitive tool-less technology. The toy is
designed to blend in with the adult's world and to involve them and the
children from the assembly, quick and intuitive, to the customization
and the play. Share your ideas on social networks with the hashtag
#playfioredoro and let yourself be inspired! The collection has big
surprises in store for you, including Enzo, the pizza oven,
Freestanding, the play kitchen, and accessories such as the small hanging
scale. If you're a fan of pretend play, if you can't wait to get to know
our products and be kept up to date about the beginning of the sales,
subscribe to the newsletter here www.playfioredoro.com!